Mobility Framing Effects in Migration Surveys: A Research Note With Experimental Evidence From Senegal
2026-06-05
Highlights We provide causal evidence that asking about intentions to stay rather than migrate reduces expressed migration aspirations by 12 percentage points, confirming a significant “mobility framing effect” in survey responses. Researchers should consider using more balanced survey instruments when eliciting mobility intentions and may risk overestimating migration when inferring future migration flows from aspirations measured through surveys.